Mine car



Oct. 20, 1931. N. D. VETH 1,828,263

MINE CAR Filed Dec. 9. 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l N. D. VETH Oct. 20, 1931.

MINE CAR 9, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec.

Patented Oct. 20, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE NOEL D. VETI-I, OFBARNESVILLE, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE WATT CAR AND WHEEL 00., OFBABNESVILLE, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO MINE CAB,

Application filed December 9, 1929. Serial No. 412,873.

This invention relates to industrial cars such as mine, ore, and quarrycars.

In the usage of cars of these types, one of the prime requisites is thatthe car have a minimum over-all height, but, at the same time, a maximumcapacity, without undue lateral dimensions. Various efforts have beenput forth in the past to secure a car of maximum capacity withoutincreasing what is generally looked upon as the minimum over all height,and the principal objective of the present invention is theaccomplishment of this result.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a car having afiat central bottom portion and upwardly sloping side bottom portionsand an axle that will function as a stiifener for said central portionof the bottom and a considerable portion of said sloping portionsthereof.

A still further object is the production of a car body whose bottom isformed of metal plates fastened directly to the wheel axles, thefastening elements for attachingthe car bottom to the axles alsoextending through the main sills of the car body, these main sills, inthe preferred embodiment, being formed of channel irons. By having thesills and car bottom plates attached directly to the axles and, ascontemplated by the present invention, having the draw bar or tie rodalso fastened to the bottom plates, all shocks imposed upon the cars atthe endsthereof, either when brought into contact with one an other orwhen the cars are being pulled, will be transmitted from one end of thecar to the other by main beams and draw bar. Furthermore, by having thetie rod or draw bar rigidly attached to the bottom plates, and thebottom plates directly attached to the axles, all

the stress set up by the car being pulled is distributed equally to bothof the axles,

A further object is the construction of a bumper composed of a bumperblock secured directly to one of thebottom plates, said block beingprotected by a bumper plate that extends from the top thereof andbeneath the bottom plate of the car, with the end of the tie rod or drawbar interposed between said plate and the bumper block.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certaindetails of construction and combinations and arrangementsofparts, all aswill hereinafter be more fully described and the novel features thereofparticularly pointed out in the appended aims- In the accompanyingdrawings, illustrating the preferred embodiment of the present inventionin a mine. car,

Figure 1 is a top plan view;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal, vertical, central section of the carillustrated in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a transverse, vertical, sectional view, on the lineindicated at 33 inFigure 1; and s Figure 4 is a detail sectional view onthe line H of Figure 3.

While the design of the car body proper maybe varied, it is preferablyformed of a substantially flat central body portion 10 and side bottomportions 11, which extend upwardly from the center portion 10 and haveattached to their outer extremities, sides 12. At one end, the car isprovided with a substantially rigid end 13, while the opposite end isconstituted by a gate, preferably in the form of a U-shaped bail member14, pivoted at 15, between bail ears 16 and the sides 12 of the car. Inaccordance with the present invention, this body is supported on a pairof axles,.each of which has a central portion 18 and upwardly offsetportions 19 near the ends thereof, the. ends 20 of the axles formingjournalsof the wheels 21. As shown in Figures 2 and 4, these axles havefiat, upper surfaces, preferably angular in cross section, and the metalplates constituting the central portion 10 andthe sloping side portions11 of the car bottom rest directly on the flat'upper surfaces of theaxles. In other words, the central portion 10 of the car bottom rests onthe flat straight central portion 18 of the axles, and the inclinationof the side portions 11 of said bottom correspond to the inclination ofthe offset portions 19 of the axles. As a consequence, when these bottomplates of the car bottom are firmly attached to the axles, as will behereinafter described, there is produced a substantially rigid unitaryconstruction which includes the main sills of the car, as will also belater described. For instance, the car body is attached to the axles byclips 22, which embrace said axles shown in Figure 4, the clips beingprovided with flanges 23 through which fastening elements such as bolts24 extend. These fastening elements not only pass through flanges 23 ofthe clips, but they also extend through the sloping portions of the carbottom and the sills of the car, said sills preferably taking the formof channel irons 25. whose webs lie flat against the surfaces of thesloping side portions 11 with the flanges projecting upwardly. These 1sills, of course, extend the full length of the car at each side of thelongitudinal center of the car, and extending longitudinally andcentrally of the car bottom is the tie rod or draw bar 26 rigidlyattached to the bottom plate 10 by suitable fastening elementspreferably in the form of rivets, some of which extendthrough the drawbar, bottom 10, and binder straps 27. Such a construction resents a veryrigid unitary car body, in w iich the strains are taken up by the tierod and sills and in which all stress, when the car is being pulled, isdistributed equally to both of the axles.

At each end of the car, there is a bumper block 28 mounted directly onthe bottom plate 10, the draw bar being formed with inclined portionsnear each end so that its ends overlap the upper surfaces of saidblocks. For protecting the upper surface of said block 28 and theoverlapping end of tie rod 26, is a. bumper plate 29 which extends fromthe top surface of the block downwardly and under the bottom plate 10,as well as the end binder stra 27. Attached to the draw bar 26 near eacend thereof is a relatively heavy coupling bar 31 which projects overthe bumper plate 29, being held in vertically spaced relation thereto byspacer blocks 30, disposed laterally on the upper surface of the bumperplate. These several parts, i. e. the bars 31, spacer blocks 30, bumperplate 29, bumper block 28, bottom plate 10. and binder strap 27 are allrigidly connected together by through bolts 32 that project through allof these elements. As will be understood, the spaces provided betweenthe bumper plates 29 and the relatively heavy bars 31 are for couplinglinks adapted to be engaged by coupling pins removably positioned insuitable openings in the bumper.

To facilitate discharge of the contents of the car from the gate endthereof when the car is dumped, and to protect the bumper blocks 28, thegate end of the car bottom, or rather the bumper block 28, is providedon its upper surface with inclined plates 33. It will be understood, ofcourse, that the sloping side portions 11 of the car body are notsufiiciently high to provide the clearance necessary for the wheels. Inaccordance with the usual practice, therefore, portions of these slopingsides are cut away and the openings thus formed closed by housin 34,which project upwardly somewhat into the interior of the car.

What is claimed is:

1. In a mine car and the like, a pair of axles having substantially flatupper surfaces and upwardly offset end portions, wheels journaled onsaid axles, and a car body mounted on said axles, said body having acentral bottom plate supported on the flat upper surfaces of theintermediate portions of said axles and sloping side portions supporteddirectly on the offset end portions of said axles.

2. In a mine car and the like, a pair of axles having upwardly ofi'setend portions, wheels on said axles, a car body having a flat centralportion and sloping side portions, the inclination of said side portionscorresponding to that of the offset portions of the axles, sillsextending longitudinally of said sloping portions of the bottom, andmeans for rigidly securing the sloping portions of the bottom and axlesto said sills.

3. In a mine car and the like, a pair of axles having upwardly offsetend portions, wheels on said axles, a car body having a fiat centralportion and sloping side portions, the inclination of said side portionscorresponding to that of the offset portions of the axles, sillsextending longitudinally of said sloping portions of the bottom, clipsembracing the offset portions of said axles, and fastenin ele mentsextending through said clips, said sills and the sloping portions of thecar bottom.

4. In a mine car and the like, a pair of axles having upwardly offsetend portions, wheels on said axles, a car body having a flat centralportion and sloping side portions, the inclination of said side portionscorresponding to that of the offset portions of the axles, channel ironsextending longitudinally of the sloping portions of said bottom withtheir webs flat against the upper surfaces of said portions, clipsembracing the offset portions of said axles, and fastening elementsextending through said clips, the sloping portions of said bottom, andthe webs of said channel irons.

5. In a mine car and the like, a pair of axles having flat uppersurfaces and upwardly offset end portions, wheels on said end portions,a car body having a flat central bottom portion fastened directly to theintermediate portions of said axles and sloping side bottom portionsattached directly to the offset portions of said axles, bumper blocks on5 said central bottom portion at the ends thereof, bumper plates securedto said blocks and the car bottom, a draw bar secured to said bottomwith its ends interposed between said bumper blocks and bumper plates,coupling 10 Jars projecting over each bumper plate, spacer membersbetween each plate and coupling bar, and bolts extending through thecoupling bar, bumper plate, bumper and car bottom at each end of the carbody.

I5 NOEL D. VETH,

